Roughneck Riders are not an MC club you mess with, least of all their rough and tough gang leader Heavy. But Heavy has a secret that has to be kept, no matter what—his heart belongs to a man. It shouldn’t. He’s supposed to be into women, like the other guys in the club. Junk is just too cute to resist, though. Add in his delectable body, his sweet submission and his willingness to accept Heavy’s sadism, and the couple are a perfect match.

Junk’s a probie, proving his worth to the club and demonstrating his mechanical know-how. He’s lived on the edge for a long time, flitting from one place to the next. But now that he’s settling in as a Roughneck, life is looking up. Not least because he’s in love—soul-eating, cock-thickening obsessive love. He can’t tell anyone about his desire for Heavy, but what he can do is push his lover’s buttons, all day, in full view of everyone, until he’s damned sure the night will bring a whole host of sinful delights and wicked punishments that will leave him marked, bruised and most of all, wholly satisfied.

Publisher’s Note: This book has previously been released as part of the His Rules anthology with Pride Publishing.

This is a perfect example why I love Lily Harlem. She can write a story with characters that are compelling enough that you want to know more about them even though it’s a short story. At the end, all I could say was… I want more! We got to learn a bit about the life the two men live as part of a motorcycle gang and about their secret meetings and how blisteringly hot they are.

Lily Harlem writes so well that the story was capturing and the sex was HOT and even though all in all it was a short story, I wanted to find out what happens and more about each of the characters, which is a hard thing to do when the story didn’t have long to establish much at all.

Jack Azevedo captains his charter sailboat in the Caribbean. Life can’t get any better, especially once he discovers a mysterious uncharted island with a sugar-sand cove for his passengers to enjoy and an intriguing, if angry, inhabitant.

Superstar Eve La Sirena has an illicit plan to restore creative freedom to musicians worldwide…if she can keep an ocean between her public and her secrets. Jack’s arrival exposes her island retreat and jeopardizes years of work, but his sweet generosity whets her cruel appetites.

As a transmasculine gender explorer and BDSM bottom, Jack’s used to flouting convention, not the law. When Eve’s clandestine project draws three kinds of cops, everything he has is endangered. Will the maelstrom of emotion strip the civilized veneer from his piratical heart?

This was a very different book than what I thought I was going into.. Then again, it had been a long time since I’d read the synopsis for the book so I’d forgotten most of it.

I’ll start with one of my biggest issues being that Jack is transgendered, and everyone just automatically knew or assumed and that was a very weird thing for me since that’s not a normal thing. People don’t think that way, especially if they’ve never met the person they don’t assume that the person is transgendered.

However, beyond that, the story was actually really quite interesting. I liked the chemistry between Eva and Jack and the relationship with Harmonie. While there were some BDSM aspects, I really didn’t feel like the story was a BDSM story since it was more of a controlling lover than submission in my opinion.

There was some mystery and secrets going on, but they were in the background for the most part until toward the end. It almost felt unnecessary, except for that it gave Jack and Eva an excuse to try to run away together… whether they manage to or not, you’ll have to read to find out.

All in all it wasn’t a bad story, but there were aspects that just didn’t work for me.

Welcome to Green’s Hill, a small, secret collective of the fey, furry, and undead, existing unnoticed in the California foothills for over a hundred and fifty years. Whether your passion is exotic were-animals, angels, elves, or vampires, you can find them here—although things are changing on the hill.

Bound by love and honor, Cory, Green, and Adrian work to give their followers a home—but they have no idea that the effects of their true love will spread like ripples in a pond.

Be prepared for the unexpected, and ready for enchantment—you never know who will be awakened to the romantic possibilities of a vampire, a sorceress, or a pansexual elf who finds power in the force of love.

This anthology includes:

Litha’s Constant Whim
It is on Litha that Whim meets Charlie, and their vows to return next Litha and finish what they started launch a thirteen-year tradition of celebration.1st Edition published by Dreamspinner Press, June 2010.

I Love You Asshole!
It’s a good thing vampires live forever, because it might take Marcus that long to convince Phillip that gender lines are for the living.1st Edition published by Dreamspinner Press, May 2011.

Guarding the Vampire’s Ghost
An accident of divine politics has put Adrian, a twice-dead vampire, in heaven and under the care of angels Shepherd and Jefischa.1st Edition published by Dreamspinner Press, October 2010.

Litha’s Constant Whim – This was a sweet story about true love and how it can stand the test of time and what it is like to sacrifice love for life. There is a lot that goes on in this story for it being a short story, but I absolutely adored the two men and the way they came together to be there for each other as friends then lovers then friends once more.

I Love You Asshole! – I have to say that while I don’t particularly care for the name of this story, I did like the story. I liked that we got to see that sometimes when you think your feelings are so clear, they might not be. The only way to know for sure someone knows how you feel is to tell them with words.

Guarding the Vampire’s Ghost – I have to say that I think this was my favorite story of the set… well, maybe second to Litha’s Constant Whim, but it was close. I loved that we got to see Adrian and Green together again. I loved that we got to see what it like for Adrian while his lovers continue living, but I also like seeing the two angels come to realize that they meant more to each other than friends and that sometimes it is worth falling to experience love and pleasure.

As above, so below, except when referring to the underground Refuge Inc. compound.

A century after an asteroid impact and merely fifteen years after a second collision that turned the world into a noxious wasteland, Cadet Connor Nichols and other Refuge facility residents are making the most of their spherical underground utopia they call home.

But when a breach threatens to poison the occupants with toxic air, Connor is forced to make life-altering decisions in an attempt to save lives and his only home. With help from best friend and training partner, Vince Moore, he’s reminded that good leadership requires responsibility.

His struggle intensifies as everything he knows about the facility, the leaders, and himself becomes twisted, distorted, and turned into the unimaginable when his efforts exposes shocking secrets that threaten their future.

*A standalone in the Refuge Inc. series

I have to say I didn’t even realize this story was in a series until I sat down to write my review. It was a very good stand alone story that didn’t feel like anything was left out without having read the other books in the series.

This is a world that is after Earth as we know it has been destroyed. I absolutely loved the world that the author created. It was believable and intriguing.

The relationship between the two main characters was touching. They had a romance that was exploitative in their youth, but stopped however, their friendship was able to continue to thrive until Connor can’t hold it in anymore. While I normally don’t care for the tease of two characters never actually getting down to the dirty.. this actually worked and I liked that they were so tentative with each other and taking each step deeper into their relationship.

The drama that we get from the story come from the facility itself and the leadership within. While I wouldn’t have minded more information about how things came to be the way they were, it wasn’t hard to go with the story as it was written. I thought it was extremely creative the way the ‘bad guys’ were handled.

In the end I want to go back and start with the first book since this story was so well written.

(Enthusiastic, play-it-safe Kelly Sutton is an American intern at the Photonic Royal Society in New London. He’s been working on Project Mars for over a year, a mission kept so secret by the Society even Kelly doesn’t know exactly what it is. What Kelly does know is his contribution to the task will benefit mankind, and that’s enough for him.

Kelly’s world turns upside down when concerns over his mentor’s behavior lead Kelly to investigate and stumble upon a wicked truth. What is supposed to be a project to advance human life turns out to be an endeavor capable of mass destruction. The terrifying reality forces Kelly to choose between looking the other way to keep his job, as he’s always done, or risking his career and even his life to do the right thing by saving the man who’s captured his heart.

I have to say that I absolutely LOVED this story. The way the two men came together and how they don’t realize what it is they are feeling until they are forced to face it.

With there being a huge secret right at the beginning its hard to not give any spoilers for this story, but I’ll say that it was absolutely believable and that it’s another hit from Charlie Cochet. Once I picked up the story, I couldn’t put it down. I was sucked in and had to know what was going to come next for Kelly and the men that he worked with and the horrible situation they found themselves in.

While it is a bit of a fluffy romance, I still thoroughly enjoyed it simply because of the way that Charlie Cochet writes her stories.

Lise’s father is dead, and the life of plenty and freedom that she has known as the daughter of the King’s Huntsman is gone. She must now live a life of duty to her mother and sisters, helping them to cope in their altered circumstances. But where her mother would have her wed a childhood friend to secure their future, Lise knows that is not what she longs for.

When she meets a mysterious woman in the forest, Lise feels the stirrings of emotions she cannot give voice to, but with this woman, she doesn’t have to say anything—Senna knows.

Cursed, hunted, and feared, Senna has been forced to wander from place to place for more years than she cares to remember. She gave up hope long ago that there could ever be an end to her isolation.

Odd sightings in the forest—monsters of legend come to life, old enemies back from the past, fearsome beasts on the prowl—begin to frighten the people of Lise’s village. Somehow, all of these things are connected to Senna. As the villagers’ fear grows, so does their hatred.

Senna prepares to flee, accepting what has become her fate, but Lise isn’t ready to give up her one chance for happiness. Soon, only Lise stands between the villagers and the woman she has grown to love.

I hate to review books like this. Werlinger has put together a wonderfully written story, with an interesting and engaging concept, that I didn’t really like. My problem with the book is most likely about pacing. I felt it started really slowly, which agrees with others I’ve discussed the book with. Others told me that it gets better, so I decided to keep with it. And yes, while the pace did pick up, things still moved rather slowly for me. It’s almost as though the details, especially of the day-to-day life of Lise and her village, bog the story down too much. At the end of the book, I understand why others liked the story. I love the idea of this interpretation of the fairy tale, but as much as I was looking forward to reading this, it just wasn’t for me. The problem with my rating is that I totally respect the way Werlinger crafted her story; her writing skills are great, and I like her characters. Her style just didn’t click with me.

Nyandoro was born the favorite. As the only girl of her parents’ six children, she gets everything she wants without even asking for it. When the latest thing she desires is the wife of a village elder, she faces consequences she never had to before.

These consequences come with the dawn of a passion she didn’t know existed, a carnal feast of flesh she can’t get enough of. But on the night she gains the ultimate satisfaction from the woman she’d always wanted, she also loses every good thing she ever had. This loss takes Ny from the shelter of her family and home to the unknown wilds of a new world flush with ancient power, and into the arms of an old lover who has always been by her side.

This book is the gem amongst river rocks. There is a great depth of characterization, and the setting is rich with culture and community. The author makes us live in the village with Nyandoro and Duni, and all of Ny’s family. We hunt with her and her brothers, we work with her father and mother, we feel the heat on our skin and taste the dust on our tongues. In the beginning we vicariously share the laughter and joy of a young woman on the cusp of becoming an adult. We join Ny’s pursuit of Duni, even as we know there will be a price to pay. We see Duni pay that price, and Ny realize the changes that must occur now that consequences have come to pass. Ny has a price to pay as well, for the deal that her mother has made. Paying that price results in heartache for Ny, and the loss of her innocence. Now as she accepts the changes in her life, she must come to terms with all her loss, and find out if the loss of her innocence also means the loss of her love and happiness. This was an awesome read, and I wholeheartedly recommend it.